CN1130313C - Method of and apparatus for manufacturing erbium-doped optical fibers - Google Patents
Method of and apparatus for manufacturing erbium-doped optical fibers Download PDFInfo
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- CN1130313C CN1130313C CN97109568A CN97109568A CN1130313C CN 1130313 C CN1130313 C CN 1130313C CN 97109568 A CN97109568 A CN 97109568A CN 97109568 A CN97109568 A CN 97109568A CN 1130313 C CN1130313 C CN 1130313C
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C03—GLASS; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL
- C03C—CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF GLASSES, GLAZES OR VITREOUS ENAMELS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF GLASS; SURFACE TREATMENT OF FIBRES OR FILAMENTS MADE FROM GLASS, MINERALS OR SLAGS; JOINING GLASS TO GLASS OR OTHER MATERIALS
- C03C13/00—Fibre or filament compositions
- C03C13/04—Fibre optics, e.g. core and clad fibre compositions
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C03—GLASS; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL
- C03B—MANUFACTURE, SHAPING, OR SUPPLEMENTARY PROCESSES
- C03B37/00—Manufacture or treatment of flakes, fibres, or filaments from softened glass, minerals, or slags
- C03B37/01—Manufacture of glass fibres or filaments
- C03B37/012—Manufacture of preforms for drawing fibres or filaments
- C03B37/014—Manufacture of preforms for drawing fibres or filaments made entirely or partially by chemical means, e.g. vapour phase deposition of bulk porous glass either by outside vapour deposition [OVD], or by outside vapour phase oxidation [OVPO] or by vapour axial deposition [VAD]
- C03B37/018—Manufacture of preforms for drawing fibres or filaments made entirely or partially by chemical means, e.g. vapour phase deposition of bulk porous glass either by outside vapour deposition [OVD], or by outside vapour phase oxidation [OVPO] or by vapour axial deposition [VAD] by glass deposition on a glass substrate, e.g. by inside-, modified-, plasma-, or plasma modified- chemical vapour deposition [ICVD, MCVD, PCVD, PMCVD], i.e. by thin layer coating on the inside or outside of a glass tube or on a glass rod
- C03B37/01807—Reactant delivery systems, e.g. reactant deposition burners
- C03B37/01838—Reactant delivery systems, e.g. reactant deposition burners for delivering and depositing additional reactants as liquids or solutions, e.g. for solution doping of the deposited glass
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C03—GLASS; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL
- C03B—MANUFACTURE, SHAPING, OR SUPPLEMENTARY PROCESSES
- C03B37/00—Manufacture or treatment of flakes, fibres, or filaments from softened glass, minerals, or slags
- C03B37/01—Manufacture of glass fibres or filaments
- C03B37/012—Manufacture of preforms for drawing fibres or filaments
- C03B37/014—Manufacture of preforms for drawing fibres or filaments made entirely or partially by chemical means, e.g. vapour phase deposition of bulk porous glass either by outside vapour deposition [OVD], or by outside vapour phase oxidation [OVPO] or by vapour axial deposition [VAD]
- C03B37/018—Manufacture of preforms for drawing fibres or filaments made entirely or partially by chemical means, e.g. vapour phase deposition of bulk porous glass either by outside vapour deposition [OVD], or by outside vapour phase oxidation [OVPO] or by vapour axial deposition [VAD] by glass deposition on a glass substrate, e.g. by inside-, modified-, plasma-, or plasma modified- chemical vapour deposition [ICVD, MCVD, PCVD, PMCVD], i.e. by thin layer coating on the inside or outside of a glass tube or on a glass rod
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C03—GLASS; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL
- C03B—MANUFACTURE, SHAPING, OR SUPPLEMENTARY PROCESSES
- C03B2201/00—Type of glass produced
- C03B2201/06—Doped silica-based glasses
- C03B2201/30—Doped silica-based glasses doped with metals, e.g. Ga, Sn, Sb, Pb or Bi
- C03B2201/31—Doped silica-based glasses doped with metals, e.g. Ga, Sn, Sb, Pb or Bi doped with germanium
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- C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
- C03—GLASS; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL
- C03B—MANUFACTURE, SHAPING, OR SUPPLEMENTARY PROCESSES
- C03B2201/00—Type of glass produced
- C03B2201/06—Doped silica-based glasses
- C03B2201/30—Doped silica-based glasses doped with metals, e.g. Ga, Sn, Sb, Pb or Bi
- C03B2201/34—Doped silica-based glasses doped with metals, e.g. Ga, Sn, Sb, Pb or Bi doped with rare earth metals, i.e. with Sc, Y or lanthanides, e.g. for laser-amplifiers
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- Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
- Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
- Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
- Y02P40/00—Technologies relating to the processing of minerals
- Y02P40/50—Glass production, e.g. reusing waste heat during processing or shaping
- Y02P40/57—Improving the yield, e-g- reduction of reject rates
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- Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
- Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
- Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
- Materials Engineering (AREA)
- Organic Chemistry (AREA)
- General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Optics & Photonics (AREA)
- Manufacture, Treatment Of Glass Fibers (AREA)
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Abstract
A method of and an apparatus for erbium-doped optical fibers usable as an optical amplifier allowing optical signals to be directly amplified by themselves, which method and apparatus are capable of reducing manufacturing time while increasing productivity. The methods includes the steps of closing one end of a quartz tube deposited with a clad layer and a core layer, injecting a solution containing erbium and other additive elements into the quartz tube, thereby absorbing the solution in the core layer, removing the solution from the quartz tube after a predetermined period of time elapses, clamping the quartz tube to a clamping chuck via a connecting tube which is connected to the quartz tube, opening again the closed end of the quartz tube, injecting a large amount of gas into the quartz tube, heating the connecting tube by the heating source to a predetermined temperature, thereby warming the gas introduced in the quartz tube, rotating the clamping chuck to uniformly heat the quartz tube, thereby slowly drying the solution absorbed in the core layer of the quartz tube, and heating again the quartz tube by the heating source, thereby softening the quartz tube. Thereafter, both ends of the quartz tube may be completely sealed to form an erbium-doped optical fiber preform having a hollow cylindrical structure.
Description
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing an optical fiber, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for manufacturing an erbium-doped optical fiber for an optical amplifier to allow optical signals to be directly amplified therethrough, which can reduce manufacturing time while improving productivity.
In an ultra-high speed information communication network or in a case where long-distance signal transmission is performed in a long-distance communication network or in a case where an optical signal generated in one area is branched in different directions in such a communication network, the initial intensity of the optical signal is lowered during its transmission. Therefore, in this case, it is necessary to greatly amplify the optical signal. For this purpose, a semiconductor amplifier or an optical amplifier may be used. In particular, semiconductor amplifiers have been widely used as basic elements of an ultra-high speed information communication network because they can directly amplify optical signals to a desired level without requiring a complicated signal processing process.
Such optical amplifiers use optical fibers such as those containing erbium (Er), which is a medium for internally amplifying optical signals.
Such erbium-doped optical fibers can be manufactured by various methods.The most frequently used and reliable method is the Modified Chemical Vapor Deposition (MCVD) method.
The following description is made in conjunction with the case of producing erbium-doped optical fibers by the MCVD method.
A conventional method of manufacturing erbium-doped optical fibre substrates using the MCVD method is now described with reference to figures 1 and 2.
According to the conventional method using the MCVD method, the connection pipe 22 is first clamped at one end of the chuck 24, as shown in fig. 2. A quartz tube 10 called a "support tube" is connected to the other end of the connection tube 22. The quartz tube 10 is used to make erbium doped optical fiber substrates. Subsequently, a feedstock 38 such as SiCl is delivered by oxygen from a feedstock supply system4Or GeCl4Is supplied to the inside of the quartz tube 10.
Next, the quartz tube 10 is heated by an external heating source 26 (e.g., an oxygen/hydrogen burner) while being rotated. During the heating process, an oxidation reaction occurs inside the quartz tube 10. The oxidation reaction is represented by the following equation:
As the heating process further proceeds while the heating source 26 reciprocates in the longitudinal direction of the quartz tube 10, the particle deposits 32 are sintered while the inner surface of the quartz tube 10 is transparentized. As a result, a thin glass layer is formed on theinner surface of the quartz tube 10.
Subsequently, the above procedure is repeated until the glass layer on the inner surface of the quartz tube 10 reaches a desired thickness.
In forming the glass layer, a glass layer portion corresponding to the clad layer 14 is formed first, and then a glass layer corresponding to the core layer 16 is formed.
In order to manufacture erbium-doped optical fibers that can directly amplify optical signals to a desired height without requiring complex signal processing processes, using a quartz tube 10 formed of a clad layer 14 and a core layer 16, the quartz tube 10 is separated from a chuck 24 after one end is sealed.
Subsequently, a solution containing erbium and other additive elements was injected into the inside of the quartz tube 10 whose one end was sealed.
The quartz tube 10 is then maintained under the above conditions for a desired period of time to allow the erbium 18 to be absorbed to a desired amount within the core layer 16. After a desired period of time has elapsed, the solution is removed from the quartz tube 10. At this point, the core layer 16 has absorbed the solution containing erbium 18 and other additive elements.
Next, the quartz tube 10 is clamped to the chuck 24 and its sealed end is opened.
The chuck 24 is then rotated to rotate the quartz tube 10 to prevent the solution absorbed in the core layer 16 from being abruptly concentrated in the core layer 16, as shown in fig. 2. Subsequently, the quartz tube 10 is maintained as it is for a long period of time so that the solution absorbed in the quartz tube 10 can be air-dried.
After the erbium 18 absorbed in the quartz tube 10 is completely dried in the above-described process, the quartz tube 10 is heated at a high temperature by the heating source 26 so as to be softened. Subsequently, both ends of the quartz tube 10 are completely sealed. Thus, an erbium-doped optical fiber substrate having a hollow cylindrical structure is obtained.
However, the above-described method, which includes a step of drying the solution containing erbium 18 and other additive elements absorbed in the quartz tube 10, is problematic in that a long period of time is required to carry out this drying step because the drying step is carried out in a natural air-dried state. This results in extended manufacturing times for the erbium-doped optical fiber substrate. As a result, the productivity of the erbium-doped optical fiber substrate is lowered. Moreover, the cost of erbium-doped optical fiber substrates increases. In addition, an irregular undried phenomenon may occur since the quartz tube 10 is dried in a natural air-dried state. This irregular un-drying phenomenon results in a non-uniform refractive index profile.
Another conventional method of manufacturing erbium-doped optical fiber substrates using the MCVD method is now described with reference to fig. 1 and 3. In fig. 3, respective elements corresponding to those in fig. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals.
According to this conventional method using the MCVD method, the connection pipe 22 is first clamped at one end of the chuck 24, as shown in fig. 3. A quartz tube 10 called a "support tube" is connected to the other end of the connection tube 22. The quartz tube 10 is used to manufacture erbium doped optical fiber substrates. Subsequently, a feedstock 38 such as SiCl is delivered by oxygen from a feedstock supply system4Or GeCl4Is supplied to the inside of the quartz tube 10.
Next, the quartz tube 10 is heated by an external heating source 26 (e.g., an oxygen/hydrogen burner) while being rotated. During the heating process, an oxidation reaction occurs inside the quartz tube 10. The oxidation reaction is represented by the following equation:
When the heating source 26 is reciprocated in the longitudinal direction of the quartz tube 10, the particle deposits 32 are sintered while the inner surface of the quartz tube 10 is transparentized, as the heating process is further progressed. As a result, a thin glass layer is formed on the inner surface of the quartz tube 10.
Subsequently, the above procedure is repeated until the glass layer on the inner surface of the quartz tube 10 reaches a desired thickness.
In forming the glass layer, a glass layer portion corresponding to the clad layer 14 is formed first, and then a glass layer corresponding to the core layer 16 is formed.
In order to manufacture erbium-doped optical fibers that can directly amplify optical signals to a desired height without requiring complex signal processing processes, using a quartz tube 10 formed of a clad layer 14 and a core layer 16, the quartz tube 10 is separated from a chuck 24 after one end is sealed.
Subsequently, a solution containing erbium and other additive elements was injected into the inside of the quartz tube 10 whose one end was sealed.
The quartz tube 10 is then maintained under the above conditions for a desired period of time to allow the erbium 18 to be absorbed to a desired amount within the core layer 16. After a desired period of time has elapsed, the solution is removed from the quartz tube 10. At this point, the core layer 16 has absorbed the solution containing erbium 18 and other additive elements.
Next, the quartz tube 10 is clamped to the chuck 24 and its sealed end is opened.
The chuck 24 is then rotated to rotate the quartz tube 10 to prevent the solution absorbed in the core layer 16 from being abruptly concentrated in the core layer 16, as shown in fig. 3. During the rotation of the quartz tube 10, the outer surface of the quartz tube 10 is slowly heated at a low temperature by the heater 30 while the heater 30 is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the quartz tube 10, thereby allowing the solution absorbed in the quartz tube 10 to be slowly dried.
After the erbium 18 absorbed in the quartz tube 10 is completely dried according to the above procedure, the quartz tube 10 is heated at a high temperature by the heating source 26 so that it is softened. Subsequently, both ends of the quartz tube 10 are completely sealed. Thus, an erbium-doped optical fiber substrate having a hollow cylindrical structure is obtained.
The solution containing erbium 18 and other additive elements absorbed in the quartz tube 10 is dried according to the method shown in fig. 3 described above, and the drying time can be greatly reduced compared to the natural air drying method shown in fig. 2. This is because the outer surface of the quartz tube 10 is slowly heated at a warm temperature by the heater 30 while the heater 30 is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the quartz tube 10, thereby allowing the solution absorbed in the quartz tube 10 to be dried. However, even in this case, several hours are required to dry the quartz tube 10. Consequently, this method is problematic because it takes a long period of time to manufacture the erbium-doped optical fiber substrate. As a result, the productivity of the erbium-doped optical fiber substrate is lowered. Moreover, the cost of erbium-doped optical fiber substrates increases. In addition, an irregular undried phenomenon may occur due to the thermal drying of the quartz tube 10 by the heater 30. This irregular un-drying phenomenon results in a non-uniform refractive index profile. Since the quartz tube 10 is dried using the heater 30, additional time and cost are required to install the heater 30. Moreover, improper installation of the heater 30 can cause errors in the fabrication of the erbium-doped optical fiber substrate.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method and apparatus for manufacturing erbium-doped optical fibers, which can uniformly dry a solution containing erbium and other additive elements absorbed in a core layer of a base.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method and apparatus for manufacturing an erbium-doped optical fiber in which the inside of a quartz tube is dried with oxygen and a heating source, thereby reducing the drying time.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method and apparatus for manufacturing an erbium-doped optical fiber in which the time for manufacturing a base of the erbium-doped optical fiber is reduced, thereby achieving an improvement in productivity.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method and apparatus for manufacturing erbium-doped optical fibers in which the cost of manufacturing the erbium-doped optical fiber substrate is reduced.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method and apparatus for manufacturing an erbium-doped optical fiber in which a uniform refractiveindex distribution of a base of the erbium-doped optical fiber is achieved.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method and apparatus for manufacturing an erbium-doped optical fiber in which the inside of a quartz tube is dried without using a heater, thereby avoiding the occurrence of unnecessary costs and the occurrence of variations in manufacturing.
According to one aspect, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing an erbium doped optical fibre for use as an optical amplifier, comprising the steps of: (a) clamping a connecting tube to the chuck, the tube having a connecting end which is connected to an end of a quartz tube suitable for manufacturing an optical fiber substrate; (b) providing a raw material into the quartz tube; (c) rotating the quartz tube while heating the quartz tube with an external heating source reciprocating in a longitudinal direction of the quartz tube, thereby forming a particle deposit on an inner surface of the quartz tube while sintering and transparentizing the particle deposit; (d) repeating step (c) to form a coating layer on the inner surface of the quartz tube; (e) repeating step (c) while varying the amount of the raw material of step (d) to form a core layer on the clad layer; (f) sealing the other end of the quartz tube; (g) separating the connecting tube from the chuck along the quartz tube; (h) injecting a solution containing erbium and other additive elements into the quartz tube, whereby the solution is absorbed in the quartz tube core layer; (i) removing the solution from the quartz tube after a predetermined period of time; (j) clamping the connecting tube to the chuck along the quartz tube 10; (k) opening the sealing end of the quartz tube; (l) Injecting a large amount of gas into the quartz tube; (m) heating the connection tube to a predetermined temperature by a heating source, thereby heating the gas introduced into the quartz tube; (n) uniformly heating the quartz tube by the spin chuck, thereby slowly drying the solution absorbed in the core layer of the quartz tube; and (o) heating the quartz tube with a heating source to thereby soften the quartz tube and completely seal both ends of the quartz tube, thereby obtaining an optical fiber substrate having a hollow cylindrical structure.
According to another aspect, the present invention provides an apparatus for manufacturing an erbium-doped optical fiber substrate by absorbing a solution containing erbium and other additive elements in a quartz tube deposited with a clad layer and a core layer and then drying the inside of the quartz tube, the apparatus comprising: a chuck for clamping and rotating the quartz tube on which the clad layer and the core layer are deposited; a connection pipe connected to the quartz pipe and adapted to connect the quartz pipe to the chuck; a gas source for providing gas to the inside of the quartz tube; a heating source that heats the gas introduced into the inside of the quartz tube, thereby slowly and uniformly drying the erbium-absorbed quartz tube.
Other objects and aspects of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of an optical fiber manufactured according to a well-known MCVD method;
FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a conventional method of drying erbium-doped optical fibers using a natural air drying method;
FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of another conventional method of drying erbium doped optical fibers with a heater;
FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a method of drying erbium-doped optical fibers using aheat source (oxygen/hydrogen burner);
referring to fig. 4, an apparatus for manufacturing erbium-doped optical fibers according to an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. In fig. 4, respective elements corresponding to those in fig. 2 and 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In particular, the device is used for drying a solution containing erbium and other additive elements absorbed in a quartz tube in the manufacture of erbium optical fiber substrates by the MCVD method according to the present invention.
As shown in fig. 1 and 4, the apparatus includes a chuck 24 for fixing the quartz tube 10 on which the clad layer 14 and the core layer 16 are deposited according to the MCVD method and rotating the fixed quartz tube 10. The connection tube 22 is fixedly mounted at one end of the chuck 24. The connecting tube 22 is used to connect the quartz tube 10 to the chuck 24. Below the connection pipe 22, a heating source 26 is disposed which generates heat to slowly heat the quartz tube 10 which absorbs the solution containing the erbium 18 and other additive elements. In the quartz tube 10, a desired amount of gas 20 is also introduced.
In order to improve efficiency in drying the inside of the quartz tube 10, oxygen is used as the gas 20. For the heating source 26, an oxygen/hydrogen burner is used, to which only hydrogen is supplied during ignition without supplying oxygen, or only hydrogen is supplied to the heating source 26 during the ignition operation of the heating source 26.
Now, a method of manufacturing an erbium-doped optical fiber using the above-described apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to fig. 1 and 4.
According to the method of the present invention using the MCVD process, the quartz tube 10 for manufacturing the erbium-doped optical fiber substrate is first connected to the connection tube 22. The connector 22 is then clamped to the chuck 24 as shown in figure 4. Subsequently, a feedstock 38, such as SiCl, is delivered as a flow of oxygen from a feedstock supply system4Or GeCl4Is supplied to the inside of the quartz tube 10.
Subsequently, the quartz tube 10 is heated by an external heating source 26 (i.e., an oxygen/hydrogen burner) while being rotated by the chuck 24. During this heating process, an oxidation reaction occurs inside the quartz tube 10. The oxidation reaction is represented by the following equation:
according to this oxidation reaction, quartz-based oxide particles containing impurities are produced. The oxide particles are present on the inner surface of the quartz tube 10 in the form of deposits 32.
As the heating process further proceeds while the heating source 26 reciprocates in the longitudinal direction of the quartz tube 10, the particle deposits 32 are sintered while the inner surface of the quartz tube 10 is transparentized. As a result, a thin glass layer is formed on the inner surface of the quartz tube 10.
Subsequently, the above procedure is repeated until the glass layer on the inner surface of the quartz tube 10 reaches a desired thickness.
In forming the glass layer, a glass layer portion corresponding to the clad layer 14 is formed first, and then a glass layer corresponding to the core layer 16 is formed. The formulation of the core layer 16 is achieved by varying the amount of material 38 from that used in the clad layer 14.
In order to produce erbium-doped optical fibers capable of directly amplifying optical signals to a desired height without the need for complex signal processing using a quartz tube 10 formed from a cladding layer 14 and a core layer 16, the quartz tube 10 is first sealed at one end. The reason why one end of the quartz tube 10 is sealed is that when a solution containing erbium 18 and other additive elements is injected into the inside of the quartz tube 10, the solution and erbium 18 may be discharged from the inside of the quartz tube 10. The quartz tube 10 is then separated from the chuck 24.
Subsequently, a solution containing erbium and other additive elements was injected into the inside of the quartz tube 10 whose one end was sealed.
The quartz tube 10 is then maintained under the above conditions for a desired period of time, thereby allowing the erbium 18 to be absorbed to a desired amount in the core layer. In order to allow the solution containing erbium 18 and other additive elements to easily infiltrate, the core layer 16 now has particles of incomplete glass structure.
After a desired period of time has elapsed, the solution is removed from the quartz tube 10. At this time, the core layer 16 has absorbed the solution containing erbium and other additive elements.
Next, the quartz tube 10 is clamped on the chuck 24 and then its sealed end is opened.
A large amount of gas 20 is then fed into the interior of the quartz tube 10 as shown in fig. 4. Oxygen is used as the gas 20 to improve the drying efficiency.
Using the heating source 26, the connection tube 22 is then uniformly heated at a temperature equal to or lower than the volatilization point of nitric acid. During the heating process, the chuck 24 is rotated to rotate the quartz tube 10to uniformly heat the connection tube 22 (to uniformly heat the gas 20, i.e., oxygen) while preventing the solution absorbed in the core layer 16 from being irregularly collected in the core layer 16. By this heating, the solution containing erbium and other additive elements is slowly heated.
After the erbium 18 absorbed in the quartz tube 10 is completely dried in the above process, the quartz tube 10 is reheated at a high temperature by a heating source 26 so that it is softened. Both ends of the quartz tube 10 are then completely sealed. This results in an erbium-doped optical fiber substrate having a hollow cylindrical structure.
According to the method and apparatus of the present invention described above, the time taken to manufacture erbium-doped optical fibers for optical amplifiers can be greatly reduced. In the production of erbium-doped optical fibers by the solution addition method, the time taken for drying the solution depends on the conditions of the core layer. Assuming that the same core layers are formed with the same erbium-containing solution, respectively, the conventional method of fig. 2 using a heater can reduce the drying time to about 1/5 of the drying time used in the natural air drying method of fig. 1. According to the present invention, the drying time may be reduced to about 1/2 of the drying time used in the method of FIG. 2 with a heater. The present invention thus provides an effective reduction in the time taken to manufacture erbium-doped optical fibers to about 1/4 times the time taken for conventional processes. This results in a significant reduction in the manufacturing time of the erbium doped optical fibre substrate. As a result, the productivity of erbium-doped optical fiber substrates is improved. In addition, the cost of erbium-doped optical fiber substrates is greatly reduced. Since oxygen is supplied to the inside of the quartz tube and heated at an appropriate temperature, the erbium solution absorbed in the quartz tube can be uniformly dried in the rotational direction of the quartz tube and the longitudinal direction of the quartz tube. Therefore, the irregular non-drying phenomenon can be prevented from occurring inside the quartz tube. In addition, there is no need to use any additional heating means such as a heater because the inside of the quartz tube is dried by the heating source for deposition of the clad layer and the core layer. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate time loss and operation errors caused by installing a separate heating device.
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.
Claims (4)
1. A method of manufacturing an erbium-doped optical fiber substrate by absorbing a solution containing erbium and other additive elements in a quartz tube having a cladding layer and a core layer deposited thereon and drying the inside of the quartz tube, the method comprising the steps of:
(a) sealing one end of the quartz tube deposited with the cladding layer and the core layer;
(b) injecting a solution containing erbium and other additive elements into the quartz tube so as to allow the solution to be absorbed within the core layer of the quartz tube;
(c) removing the solution from the quartz tube after a predetermined period of time;
(d) clamping the quartz tube to the chuck through a connection tube connected to the quartz tube;
(e) opening the sealing end of the quartztube;
(f) injecting a large amount of gas into the quartz tube;
(g) heating the connection tube to a predetermined temperature by a heating source, thereby heating the gas introduced into the quartz tube;
(h) the rotating chuck uniformly heats the quartz tube, thereby slowly drying the solution absorbed in the quartz tube core layer; and
(i) and heating the quartz tube by a heating source to soften the quartz tube and completely seal both ends of the quartz tube, thereby obtaining an optical fiber substrate having a hollow cylindrical structure.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the gas introduced into the interior of the quartz tube in step (f) is oxygen, thereby enhancing the efficiency of drying the quartz tube.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein hydrogen is provided only to the heating source during the ignition operation of the heating source.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined temperature to which the connecting tube is heated in step (g) is equal to or less than the volatilization temperature of nitric acid.
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| KR9613/96 | 1996-03-30 | ||
| KR1019960009613A KR0167132B1 (en) | 1996-03-30 | 1996-03-30 | Method and apparatus of manufacturing fiber containing erbium |
| KR9613/1996 | 1996-03-30 |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CN1164516A CN1164516A (en) | 1997-11-12 |
| CN1130313C true CN1130313C (en) | 2003-12-10 |
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Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CN97109568A Expired - Fee Related CN1130313C (en) | 1996-03-30 | 1997-03-30 | Method of and apparatus for manufacturing erbium-doped optical fibers |
Country Status (9)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| US (1) | US6125659A (en) |
| JP (1) | JP3023849B2 (en) |
| KR (2) | KR0167132B1 (en) |
| CN (1) | CN1130313C (en) |
| DE (1) | DE19712272B4 (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2746789B1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2311776B (en) |
| IN (1) | IN191474B (en) |
| RU (1) | RU2134437C1 (en) |
Families Citing this family (10)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US7797966B2 (en) * | 2000-12-29 | 2010-09-21 | Single Crystal Technologies, Inc. | Hot substrate deposition of fused silica |
| US20020083739A1 (en) * | 2000-12-29 | 2002-07-04 | Pandelisev Kiril A. | Hot substrate deposition fiber optic preforms and preform components process and apparatus |
| US20020083740A1 (en) * | 2000-12-29 | 2002-07-04 | Pandelisev Kiril A. | Process and apparatus for production of silica grain having desired properties and their fiber optic and semiconductor application |
| US6751990B2 (en) * | 2001-03-06 | 2004-06-22 | Council Of Scientific And Industrial Research | Process for making rare earth doped optical fiber |
| US20030167800A1 (en) * | 2002-03-11 | 2003-09-11 | Atkins Robert M. | Soot layer formation for solution doping of glass preforms |
| US6851281B2 (en) * | 2002-03-28 | 2005-02-08 | Council Of Scientific And Industrial Research | Method of fabricating rare earth doped optical fibre |
| US20030213268A1 (en) * | 2002-05-20 | 2003-11-20 | Homa Daniel Scott | Process for solution-doping of optical fiber preforms |
| KR100433909B1 (en) * | 2002-08-28 | 2004-06-04 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Amplifying optical fiber and method for fabricating the same |
| DE102011009242B4 (en) * | 2010-11-04 | 2020-09-03 | J-Plasma Gmbh | Optical fiber and semi-finished product for the production of an optical fiber with optimized properties |
| CN115180817B (en) * | 2022-08-22 | 2023-09-29 | 中国工程物理研究院激光聚变研究中心 | Online doping method and device for preparing active optical fiber preform |
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| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US4632684A (en) * | 1984-07-31 | 1986-12-30 | Itt Corporation | Method of and apparatus for making optical preforms from tubular bodies |
| US4669821A (en) * | 1984-09-19 | 1987-06-02 | Hughes Aircraft Company | Radiation resistant optical fiber waveguide |
| US4936650A (en) * | 1986-04-24 | 1990-06-26 | British Telecommunications Public Limited Company | Optical wave guides |
| FR2621909B1 (en) * | 1987-10-16 | 1990-01-19 | Comp Generale Electricite | |
| IT1219404B (en) * | 1988-06-27 | 1990-05-11 | Sip | PROCEDURE AND EQUIPMENT FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FIBER OPTICS IN SILICA |
| US5047076A (en) * | 1988-12-07 | 1991-09-10 | Sip - Societa Italiana Per L-Esercizio Delle Telecomunicazioni P.A. | Method of fabricating optical fibres by solution-doping |
| US5284500A (en) * | 1989-10-31 | 1994-02-08 | Fujitsu Limited | Process for fabricating an optical fiber preform |
| EP0451293B1 (en) * | 1989-10-31 | 1996-07-10 | Fujitsu Limited | Production method for optical fiber base material |
| DE69106795T2 (en) * | 1990-02-05 | 1995-09-07 | Furukawa Electric Co Ltd | QUARTZ GLASS DOPED WITH A RARE EARTH ELEMENT AND METHOD FOR THE PRODUCTION THEREOF. |
| JP2613119B2 (en) * | 1990-05-16 | 1997-05-21 | 三菱電線工業株式会社 | Method for producing rare earth element doped DSC type optical fiber preform |
| US5058976A (en) * | 1990-08-03 | 1991-10-22 | At&T Bell Laboratories | System comprising Er-doped optical fiber |
| AU649845B2 (en) * | 1991-06-24 | 1994-06-02 | Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. | Method for producing glass preform for optical fiber |
| DE4133173A1 (en) * | 1991-10-07 | 1993-04-22 | Rheydt Kabelwerk Ag | METHOD FOR PRODUCING A PREFORM FOR OPTICAL FIBERS |
| JP2766420B2 (en) * | 1992-04-07 | 1998-06-18 | 株式会社フジクラ | Method for producing erbium-doped quartz |
| US5296012A (en) * | 1992-12-28 | 1994-03-22 | Corning Incorporated | Method of making optical waveguide preforms |
| JPH06298542A (en) * | 1993-04-13 | 1994-10-25 | Sumitomo Electric Ind Ltd | Production of optical fiber preform |
-
1996
- 1996-03-30 KR KR1019960009613A patent/KR0167132B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
-
1997
- 1997-03-06 IN IN398CA1997 patent/IN191474B/en unknown
- 1997-03-24 DE DE19712272A patent/DE19712272B4/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1997-03-26 JP JP9073618A patent/JP3023849B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1997-03-27 GB GB9706709A patent/GB2311776B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1997-03-28 FR FR9703851A patent/FR2746789B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1997-03-28 RU RU97105390A patent/RU2134437C1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 1997-03-30 CN CN97109568A patent/CN1130313C/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1997-03-31 US US08/832,620 patent/US6125659A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
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1998
- 1998-08-31 KR KR1019980035664A patent/KR100206181B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
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| DE19712272A1 (en) | 1997-11-06 |
| FR2746789A1 (en) | 1997-10-03 |
| KR100206181B1 (en) | 1999-07-01 |
| JPH1081536A (en) | 1998-03-31 |
| GB2311776B (en) | 2000-08-23 |
| KR0167132B1 (en) | 1999-01-15 |
| US6125659A (en) | 2000-10-03 |
| GB9706709D0 (en) | 1997-05-21 |
| CN1164516A (en) | 1997-11-12 |
| RU2134437C1 (en) | 1999-08-10 |
| FR2746789B1 (en) | 1998-07-31 |
| KR970065452A (en) | 1997-10-13 |
| JP3023849B2 (en) | 2000-03-21 |
| GB2311776A (en) | 1997-10-08 |
| IN191474B (en) | 2003-12-06 |
| DE19712272B4 (en) | 2004-04-29 |
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